Cress Book Review!

New Book Review

Click here to check out my review of Cress by Marissa Meyer and to find out more about The Lunar Chronicles. 

PPL YA Author Fest!

Me at PPL YA Fest!

A few weeks ago I found out that some of my favorite authors where going to PPL YA Author Fest so I asked my mom if she would take me, and she said yes! Yesterday me and my mom hopped into the car, drove about three and a half hours to Pickerington, Ohio. At First we went to Pickerington High School, and then shortly realized that we went to the wrong high school. Did you know that there are two different Pickering High Schools? There's regular old Pickerington High School, and then there's Pickerington NORTH High School. Realizing that we weren't where we were supposed to be, my mom and I re-hopped into the car and drive 15 more minutes to Pickerington North High School and to PPL YA Author Fest. When we arrived we were directed to the Field House for Opening Remarks and a brief introduction by one of my favorite authors, Cinda Williams Chima! She wrote The Warrior Heir series and The Seven Realms series, I haven't read any of the Seven Realms series yet, but I read the first two of The Warrior Heir series and I loved them! So I was so excited to see her and hear her life story. 

Authors Carey Corp, Lorie Langdon, and Edith Pattou

After Open Introductions, I went to a sat in a Fantasy discussion panel and saw two other authors that have changed my life forever, Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon. Carey and Lorie both wrote the Doon series, currently only the first two are out (Doon and Destined for Doon) and the next installment, Shades of Doon, comes out in a month. I was so excited to hear about there writing stories and loved listening to the advice that they gave to upcoming writers. And the last chair on the panel belonged to Edith Pattou, she wrote and is currently writing the Fire Arrow Trilogy. She also wrote East, her new fantasy retelling, and Ghosting, an action thriller with kind of a Boo Radley/To Kill A Mockingbird vibe. I was trilled when her books grabbed my attention immediately, and was so excited to hear her thoughts on fantasy and her struggles with world building and writing strategies. I loved hearing from my favorite authors and a new one too. I knew I was going to have to go check out Eidth's booth later on in the day, to pick up copies of her books, but first I had to go to lunch.

Book Signings!

 After Lunch, it was book buying time. I bought the rest of The Warrior Heir series and the first of The Seven Realms series by Cinda Chima. And then it was book signing time! I first went to Carey's and Lorie's booth, I was fangirling so hard when they signed my copies of Doon and Destined for Doon, I also got some awesome posters, book planets, and bookmarks. Carey and Lorie where so cool, I had a blast talking to them and loved meeting them. After hitting up the Doon booth, I heading to meet Edith at her booth. Where I purchased her books East and Ghosting, and she kindly signed them both. She was so nice, and her book sound amazing. I can't wait to read them. After Edith's booth, I went and met Cinda Williams Chima! She signed my copy of The Warrior Heir and my newly purchased copy of The Demon King (Book 1 in The Seven Realms series). I was freaking out so much. She's just so awesome, and I couldn't believe I was meeting here. I had so much fun meeting some of my favorite authors and some new ones too. But the fun didn't stop then, there was also another discussion panel and book signing to go!

Authors Vicki Leigh, Mindee Arnett, and Cinda Williams Chima

After some book signing time, it was time for another discussion panel. This time I sat through another Fantasy discussion panel, but this Time with Cinda Willams Chima on it and two new authors to me; Vicki Leigh and Mindee Arnett. Vicki wrote Catch Me When I Fall, an urban fantasy about Dream Protectors and Nightmares. Mindee Arnett wrote The Nightmare Affair, a fantasy full of magic and mystery, and Avalon, an alien sci-fi full of action and hijackings. This panel focused more on the struggles of getting published and how too much world planning could be the death of your book. I also enjoyed hearing about their personal experiences with writing and writer's block. I really enjoyed meeting two new authors, who's stories sound amazing, and also seeing into the live of amazing authors. And I new that after the panel I'd have to go see them at their booths, during the next signing.

New Books and Goodies!

So that's exactly what I did, I went to both their booths and bought their books. Vicki was so awesome, I loved the way she personalized my book too. I can't wait to read her book, it sounds so good! Hopefully I'll read it soon! Mindee was so cool too! I bought her book Avalon, we talked about our love for sci-fi, and the way she signed my book was so perfect too. I also can't wait to read her book too! At the end of the Fest, I pick up a lot of book goodies, and I also picked up some at booths too. Then sadly the Fest had to end, and after having such an amazing day, my mom and I carried our very heavy and full tout bags and headed home. I had so much fun at PPL YA Author Fest, there was so much book love going around, I loved it! I met a lot of new authors, and a lot of new friends too. I can't wait to read the 10 new books I got, and I plan on going back next year.
There you have it, my first adventure through a book fest. I hope you enjoyed this longish post about my book adventure. So, until next time drink some coffee, love a cat, watch out for those feels, and dive into a good book you cant read!

Today is 'THE' Day

Well, today is 'THE' day I start a book blog. I've been reading ever since I was 12 year-old in 6th grade. So I figured that since I've been reading for 6 years now, I should probably start to share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with others. So far, I learned that I love fiction books A LOT more then non-fiction books. No offence non-fiction readers, but middle school and high school kind of killed that for me. But this doesn't mean that I'll never read non-fiction, I really enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockingbird and Silent Spring. I just read a ton more fiction then non-fiction. Only on rare occasions will you ever see a non-fiction book in my hands. Fiction is just so unpredictable, you can literally do anything with it. And I love seeing what kind of adventure authors can take me on.

 So you might be asking yourself, 'then what kind of fiction do you read?' And here's your answer; I tend to read YA fiction. There's just something about the YA style that I like. I also read YA, because most movies today a based off of YA books. For example; Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, Vampire Academy, City of Bones, and The Maze Runner, are all YA books that made it to the big screen. I just love see books come to life right before my eyes, but most movies never live up to the book's expectations. Movies just make visualizing 'the big picture', like characters and plot lines, a lot easier. And movies also give a HUGE shout out to the author and the entire fandom. 

So you know I like YA fiction, and there are many different genres to choose from when talking about books in general. And throughout the years I've learn that my two favorite genres are, Fantasy and Sci-fi/Sci-tech. We've all had our Lord of the Rings days, and ever since I read the series back in 7th grade, I've loved fantasy. Some of my favorite fantasy books/series are Throne of Glass, Eragon, Red Queen, The Whisper of The Fallen, Doon, and Graceling. Fantasy uses that right amount of magic and supernatural phenomena that just has me head over heels. And just like we've had our Lord of the Rings days, we've also had our Star Wars and Star Trek days. I got into sci-fi when I was in 8th grade, and have loved it ever since. Some of my favorite sci-fi/sci-tech reads are Fire in The Woods, Alienated, The 5th Wave, These Broken Skies, The Host, and Cinder. I love aliens, and like how authors can do anything they want with sci-fi/sci-tech.

So there you have it, you now know what kind of books I read, my favorite genres, and where my whole reading journey started. Now, enough about me. What about you? What kind of books do you read? What's your favorite genres? And who are some of your favorite authors? Please feel free to leave your answers in the comments below.

Until next time, drink some coffee, love a cat, watch out for them feels, and dive into a good book you cant wait to read!